WAKE up and smell the caffeine – and we’re not talking about just coffee.

Sure, there’s Starbucks on every corner, but the stimulant also lurks in less-obvious products like candy bars, yogurt, even chewing gum.

“There are orange drinks and cream sodas and root beers that contain caffeine, and ‘caffeine’ is in very small print,” says Roland Griffiths, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s there, but you need a magnifying glass to find it, and the amount is not labeled.”

While it’s true that coffee is now thought to have some health benefits, caffeine not so much. In moderation, it’s safe, most doctors agree – but moderation is a mere 200 mg a day.

From legions of insomniacs to club kids revved on Red Bull to supercharged tots, we’re probably all getting more of the ubiquitous stimulant than we bargained for.

Who knew that green Mountain Dew would out-caffeinate both Coke and Pepsi? That coffee yogurt would KO a typical single espresso? That green tea would have any at all?

Chocolate’s dark secret is the darker the chocolate, the higher the caffeine content. Chocolate also has something called theobromine, a less potent cousin to caffeine.

Adding to the brew-haha, there’s no such thing as a standard cup of coffee, from the caffeine content of the beans to how they’re steeped to the size of the cup.

Griffiths admits that caffeine’s lifethreatening health risks haven’t been unequivocally established, “but things like anxiety, insomnia, some kinds of panic disorder, stomach problems, some kinds of cardiovascular problems – those all may be made worse.”

Caffeine overload can also speed bone loss, and you’re more likely to become dependant, experience jitters and withdrawal symptoms. And people with sensitivities, sleeping problems, pregnant women and children really have to watch their intake and should consult their doctors for appropriate daily intake guidelines.

In the meantime, the Centers for Science in the Public Interest is petitioning the Federal Drug Administration to require such labeling. But for now, for every new product – caffeinated vodka, water and even chewing gum – touting its buzzinducing status to lure the city’s party crowd, there are dozens of coy stimulantpackers lining the shelves.

More than anything, Griffiths thinks we need to recognize caffeine as a drug and respect it as such.

“People need to know what caffeine does when they take it and what it does when they’re habitual users and they abstain from using it,” Griffith advises.